Handmade Music Factory

Paperback

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The most creative musical instrument book you’ll ever find!

You don’t have to be an expert or spend a lot of money to make your own musical instruments. Just follow-along with handyman Mike Orr as he guides you through the making of 8 of the most creative instruments you’ll find anywhere. From a one-string guitar made from a soup can, to a hubcap banjo and even a stand-up guitar made from a vintage ironing board—you’ll make instruments that look great, sound great, and deliver some foot stompin’ fun.

With Handmade Music Factory, you can make:

*Cigar Box Guitar

*Hubcap Banjo

*Cookie Tin Guitar

*Stand-Up Lap Steel Guitar (made from a vintage ironing board!)

*Washtub Bass

*Stomp Box

*Amplified Washboard

*And more!

You’ll also learn how to make your own amp using inexpensive parts from the local electronics store. And, don’t miss the plentiful sidebars and tips from the author on everything from where to find salvage parts to surviving music festival camp-outs!

This book is different from the usual fare reviewed here, but its premise is instantly intriguing. Handmade Music Factory offers step-by-step directions for making a wide variety of musical instruments from ordinary and quirky components-including a license plate, an antique metal cigar box, or a hubcap. Most of the instruments discussed are either plucked-string instruments or percussive instruments (as wind and bowed-string instruments are less forgiving of imprecise components). The directions are detailed and well-illustrated. For any handmade instruments which require or have an option for electronic amplification, detailed directions are given, accompanied by well-photographed examples. An appendix gives detailed illustrations and patterns for proper fretboard spacing. One note for Kindle readers: Every page of the book is illustrated, with text overlaying the graphics. Since the book would be of little value without the graphics, the Kindle edition offers each page in graphic format. Since this would result in impossibly tiny text in portrait mode, the pages are flipped 90 into landscape mode, and split into two sections. This can make following text on two-column pages complicated, requiring flipping forward, back, then forward again to complete the page. Also, many can comfortably hold a six-inch Kindle in a single hand in the normal (portrait) orientation; Kindles are surprisingly awkward when held sideways (landscape!) One final Kindle-specific note. This is likely not an issue on the larger 9-inch Kindle, but on the standard 6-inch model, even in landscape mode, the text is uncomfortably small. All factors considered, if this is a book you plan to purchase, skip the ebook version and go with a physical copy. This book has much of value to a Christian homeschooling audience, but would require several edits. Two handmade guitars involving bedpans as resonators are given names playing off of words not used in polite company. Each name is mentioned two or three times. There is also a (positive) reference to "mojo," and a reference to those who make their own instruments as "subversive." With those caveats duly noted, the remainder of the book would provide a homeschooler who is both musically inclined and has decent craftsmanship skills with hours of fascinating and invigorating challenges. This book came so close to a perfect Biblical Bookshelf rating, but ultimately fell a few words short. It receives three stars.